Chapter 236: Ruin and the Scapegoat (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 236: Ruin and the Scapegoat (1)
“I didn’t expect you to recognize me, Sir Vitura,” Jin said as he approached.
“I attended the Single-log Bridge Party. I spent the whole time in a corner having a drink before leaving, so it’s only natural you didn't see me.”
Vitura looked down at the fallen paladins of the Golden Shield Society, his gaze bitter.
“Most of my direct subordinates have also fallen into their clutches. Rani, I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you are still safe amidst all this.”
“…Sir Vitura. I doubted you. Please forgive me.”
As Rani bowed her head, Vitura waved his hand dismissively.
“I would have done the same in your position. Your father and I have been political rivals for a long time, after all. Furthermore, was I not always the loudest voice claiming we should side with the Zipple?”
Holy King Miklan and the Captain of the Holy Knights, Vitura Belter.
The two were known as long-standing enemies, and indeed, they frequently engaged in heated arguments during state council meetings. However, that was merely a performance to maintain political balance. Miklan played the hero who pressured the establishment, while Vitura took on the role of the villain representing their interests.
The confrontation between the two, which had continued ever since Miklan became the Holy King, was actually a partnership. Only the two of them knew the truth.
There was a long story behind it.
However, Vitura felt that now was not the time to explain the details to Rani. For now, they had to discuss the current crisis.
“Rani, the fact that you and Young Master Jin came to find me will soon be reported to the Zipple. There are very few people left in this residence whom I can fully control, and even they are all under surveillance.”
“The Zipple currently believe they have won you over,” Jin remarked.
Vitura nodded. “They likely think I was the first to be swayed. It was twenty years ago when those bastards began planting spies within the Holy Kingdom.”
Twenty years ago—that was before Jin was even born.
In his previous life, Jin had been expelled from the family without any authority and had remained ignorant of such matters, but it seemed the Holy Kingdom had already fallen into the Zipple’s hands even back then.
“The Holy Kingdom is currently split in two.”
“Between the Zipple and those who oppose them?”
“…No. It is divided between those who support the Zipple and those who support Kinzelo. The man impersonating the Holy King is one of Kinzelo’s creations. I still find it hard to believe, but Kinzelo possesses shapeshifters.”
Rani’s eyes widened. It was shocking enough that the Holy Kingdom was being consumed by the Zipple, but the fact that Kinzelo had also extended its reach was a devastating blow.
Furthermore, as far as she knew, Kinzelo was nothing more than a third-rate terrorist organization that couldn't hold a candle to the Zipple. Anyone would have a similar reaction upon hearing that such a group controlled half of the Holy Kingdom.
Jin, however, remained calm, while Murakan simply shrugged.
“It seems the Young Master is not particularly surprised by the name Kinzelo. Nor is your knight.”
I’m no knight, Murakan started to retort but decided against it.
“On the day I left Storm Castle, I was attacked by shapeshifters,” Jin explained. “They were fanatical followers of the Zipple. Since then, I’ve tracked their identity and discovered that Kinzelo and the Zipple were in league.”
“So that happened… However, they are no longer allies. They were in a partnership until recently, but for reasons unknown, they have completely turned on each other.”
Vitura had spent the time since pretending to be subservient to the Zipple while observing the situation. High Priest Montiano, Conu, and other powerful figures and their factions had already completely submitted to the Zipple, so there wasn't much he could do.
Then, when the two allied organizations became enemies, Vitura judged that their only chance to reclaim the Holy Kingdom had arrived. He had expected their grip over the nation to weaken.
But the Holy Kingdom had simply split along with them.
Into the moderates who followed the Zipple, and the radicals who followed Kinzelo.
“The traitors believe that Kelliark Zipple and the Leader of Kinzelo are beings greater than Ayula. I have not seen the Kinzelo Leader myself, but Kelliark possesses power enough to make anyone with wavering faith believe such a thing.”
After their alliance broke, the two factions decided to keep the Holy Kingdom divided for the time being, each focusing on their own goals. Though a few loyalists like Vitura remained, their numbers were infinitesimal compared to the scale of the traitors.
For a fight to even be possible, at least one of the major factions—either the moderates or the radicals—would need to have the will to reclaim the Holy Kingdom.
As Vitura briefly explained these details, the metallic scent of blood from the dead paladins of the Golden Shield Society grew stronger.
“Since when have the bio-golem experiments been carried out?” Jin asked. “When I brought Rani from the Eastern Temple, we fought Holy Kingdom soldiers who had been turned into bio-golems.”
He pulled a fragment of a bio-golem heart from his robe and showed it to them.
“…Oh, Ayula. That your sons should meet such a wretched fate.”
Vitura trembled for a moment as he held the heart fragment.
“It has been about six months since those bastards began their experiments in the Holy Kingdom. Every month, over a hundred citizens and soldiers are taken to their base to become experimental subjects.”
Rani’s face contorted. The fact that she had been completely unaware of this, despite being right here, was enough to drive her mad.
“Rani, it is not your fault. It is the fault of your father and me. We missed our chance to tell you.”
“By their base, do you mean the Lutero Magic Federation?” Jin asked, naturally assuming the bio-golem experiments were the Zipple’s doing.
“It is not the Zipple. That is Kinzelo’s work.”
However, unlike the incident in Colon, the bio-golem experiments performed on the citizens of the Holy Kingdom were Kinzelo’s atrocity.
“Kinzelo is conducting bio-golem experiments…?”
Kinzelo was an organization deeply connected to beastmen. Representative combat races like the White Wolf Tribe and the Red Tiger Tribe followed the Kinzelo Leader.
And the blue, clumped aura inside the heart fragment—the very thing that had given Jin a chilling sense of déjà vu.
Those Kinzelo bastards… Are they trying to restore the Pluto Tribe?
The heart of the bio-golem he saw in the Holy Kingdom strangely resembled the Heart of Light of the Pluto Tribe.
Murakan seemed to have the same thought, as he brought his face close to the heart fragment.
But how? My kin completely vanished from the human world five thousand years ago. There are no records left regarding the Heart of Light, and the Pluto Sword techniques that manipulate lightning energy were completely lost…
As Jin’s thoughts reached that point, he remembered a newsletter article.
‘Barmul’—the article that had described him using lightning energy. And he recalled the Kinzelo members who had survived his attack back then, the ones who had witnessed the Pluto Sword.
Could they be doing this because of that?
An indescribably unpleasant and ominous feeling weighed on Jin’s chest.
“Kinzelo is taking the citizens of the Holy Kingdom to Old Oterium.”
The headquarters of the Dark Magic Association and the place where the legacy of Riol Zipple lay dormant.
That was exactly where the bio-golem experiments were being conducted.
“Are the Zipple also taking citizens to experiment on them?”
“Not so far, at least. There are signs that the Zipple intend to use our holy relics and the demon relics we have in storage, but they have not used the citizens as experimental subjects.”
“That’s likely because they’re conscious of public opinion for when they eventually fight Kinzelo for sole ownership of the Holy Kingdom. That is the way of those hypocrites,” Jin said.
Vitura nodded with a heavy heart. He was also surprised. Jin had accurately deduced the conclusion he himself had reached after years of observation, based on just a few words.
“Ha! Hey, Holy Knight Captain. Since things have reached this point, why haven't you requested help from Runcandel or other powers even once?” Murakan asked, his voice thick with frustration.
Vitura let out a sigh. “If Runcandel joined the fray in this situation, do you think this land would even remain standing?”
From Jin’s perspective, it was a perfectly correct assessment. The Zipple and Kinzelo would at least try to rule from the shadows, but Runcandel would have used this as an excuse to start a full-scale war. They would have turned the Holy Kingdom into a wasteland before snatching away the Saints with their superior healing abilities and the items from the Eternal Warehouse.
Strictly speaking, what Runcandel needed wasn't the ‘Neutral Nation Vankella,’ but rather the ‘healing abilities of the Saints’ and a few of its precious treasures.
“Hmm, I suppose that’s true. Kid, what are you thinking so hard about?”
Jin remained silent for a moment with his arms crossed.
“A way to drive both the Zipple and Kinzelo out of here at once, without significant sacrifice.”
From the moment he heard that Kinzelo, not the Zipple, was responsible for the bio-golem experiments, he had been contemplating how he could truly screw them over.
“What?”
“I have a rough picture. It’s fortunate that Kinzelo is still not considered a major organization by the public. Sir Vitura.”
“Speak, Young Master Jin.”
“The leadership of the Holy Kingdom has either turned traitor or, like you, remains loyal but is effectively powerless. Is that correct?”
“…It is.”
“However, the citizens know nothing about this. They likely don't even know that over a hundred people—perhaps more—are being used as experimental subjects every month.”
Vitura’s eyes gradually widened.
“Are you planning to inform the citizens?”
“Yes. But simply telling them the truth won't work, because no one will believe it. We must bring them evidence. This friend and I will go to Old Oterium and rescue the captured citizens.”
“I haven't dismissed that thought myself. However, there are many 8-star and 9-star mages belonging to Kinzelo stationed there.”
“I am aware. The mages of the Dark Magic Association under Kinzelo. I have investigated them extensively as well.”
And yet you say the two of you can bring the citizens back?
Vitura wanted to ask, but he decided to listen further.
“The rescued citizens will be the most definitive evidence possible. And though it is tragic, few of the citizens we rescue from Old Oterium will be fully intact. Most will have already become bio-golems or will be in the process of transforming.”
“You mean to show that reality to the remaining citizens…”
If they could just bring back the captured subjects, it would be the most effective method possible. However, with the current strength of the loyalists, even reaching Old Oterium was impossible.
“Yes, that is the plan. And all the responsibility for it will fall not on Kinzelo, but on the Zipple. Because I will claim that I found the captured citizens in the Zipple’s 4th Magic Tower.”
“In the 4th Magic Tower? But that is a lie.”
“It doesn't matter if it's a lie. Once the fact that citizens were captured—and even sacrificed in bio-golem experiments—becomes known within the Holy Kingdom, the Zipple will be forced to explain. If they lose the people's support, ruling will become quite a headache for them.”
The citizens currently had no idea that the Holy Kingdom had fallen to the Zipple. However, if it was revealed to the world that the Zipple performed ‘experiments’ on the citizens, the clan would have to scramble to restabilize the land they had just seized.
As a clan that professed justice outwardly, it wasn't an issue they could just gloss over.
“It seems like something that could be easily disproven if the Master of the 4th Magic Tower stepped forward and said a word… but it seems the Young Master has a plan.”
“The current Master of the 4th Magic Tower, Karl Zipple, is not in the Lutero Magic Federation. He is currently being held prisoner by Kinzelo. Yet, Kinzelo is known to the world as a third-rate terrorist group.”
The moment Jin returned to the Holy Kingdom with the rescued citizens, the Zipple would have to make a choice.
Either admit that Kelliark’s legitimate son, Karl Zipple, was captured by a nameless, third-rate terrorist group.
Or take the fall for the bio-golem experiments in Kinzelo’s stead.
If they chose the former, their prestige would plummet; if they chose the latter, their image would crumble.
“We will suppress Kinzelo with force, and Zipple with their own principles.”